Page:Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 2000.djvu/2

2 No. 20853

Act No. 3, 2000

(English text signed by the President.) (Assented to 3 February 2000.)

To give effect to the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair and to the right to written reasons for administrative action as contemplated in section 33 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS section 33(1) and (2) of the Constitution provides that everyone has the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair and that everyone whose rights have been adversely affected by administrative action has the right to be given written reasons;

AND WHEREAS section 33(3) of the Constitution requires national legislation to be enacted to give effect to those rights, and to—
 * provide for the review of administrative action by a court or, where appropriate, an independent and impartial tribunal;
 * impose a duty on the state to give effect to those rights; and
 * promote an efficient administration;

AND WHEREAS item 23 of Schedule 6 to the Constitution provides that the national legislation envisaged in section 33(3) must be enacted within three years of the date on which the Constitution took effect;

AND IN ORDER TO—
 * promote an efficient administration and good governance; and
 * create a culture of accountability, openness and transparency in the public administration or in the exercise of a public power or the performance of a public function, by giving effect to the right to just administrative action,

E IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:―

Definitions

1. In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise―

“administrative action” means any decision taken, or any failure to take a decision, by―

an organ of state, when―

exercising a power in terms of the Constitution or a provincial constitution; or

exercising a public power or perfonning a public function in terms of any legislation; or

a natural or juristic person, other than an organ of state, when exercising a public power or performing a public function in terms of an empowering provision,

which adversely affects the rights of any person and which has a direct, external legal effect, but does not include—